U.S. and Taiwan ink trade deal as China issues warning
The United States and Taiwan signed a trade deal Thursday aimed at deepening economic relations between both sides — in a move that has sparked a warning from Beijing.
The U.S.Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade looks to boost trade by streamlining customs checks, improving regulatory procedures, and establishing anticorruption measures between the U.S. and the selfgoverning island of Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory.
While the U.S. and Taiwan do not have official diplomatic relations, they maintain unofficial ties through the de facto U.S. embassy on the island, the American Institute in Taiwan. The first agreement under the latest initiative was signed by representatives of the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, said the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) press office on Thursday.
But Beijing detests any hint of diplomatic relations between Taiwan and other governments.
“Relevant tasks are yet to be completed .... Taiwan will continue to move towards a comprehensive FTA (free trade agreement) with the United States to ensure Taiwan’s economic security,” he added.
Most comprehensive
Taiwan’s government has described the deal as “the most comprehensive” trade agreement signed with Washington since 1979.
China warned Washington earlier on Thursday against signing any pact “with connotations of sovereignty or of an official nature with China’s Taiwan region.”
The U.S. “must not send the wrong signals to Taiwan independence forces in the name of trade,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.